


Turtle Love

by overprimrose



Category: NCT (Band), NU'EST
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Making Out, Romance, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, an excess of turtles, fan! kim jonghyun | jr, idol! lee taeyong, zoo keeper! kim jonghyun | jr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22529374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overprimrose/pseuds/overprimrose
Summary: Jonghyun could fall in love with anyone who appreciates his animals like he does. The fact that the admirer is popular idol Lee Taeyong only makes him fall harder.
Relationships: Kim Jonghyun | JR/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 25
Kudos: 107





	Turtle Love

**Author's Note:**

> my best friend's bias became best friends with my bias so ofc i had to write a fic about them

Dongho had added Jonghyun’s name to the schedule in his horrifically messy handwriting, and Jonghyun didn’t even care. Normally, he’d hunt Dongho down and make him change it back—Dongho was _not_ supposed to change their daily schedule—but today? Today, he’d be nice. He’d let it go.

Nothing could get Jonghyun down today. He’d gotten the best news ever this morning.

The zoo’s schedule board was written in a whole variety of dry erase colors. When Dongho edited it, he only ever used the dark blue. He’d switched it so that while Jonghyun had his normal tasks in the morning—prepare diets for the education animals, feed the penguins, conduct a Lorikeet feeding with the visiting guests—his entire afternoon was blocked off.

 _Tour_ , it read.

 _Distinguished guests_ , it read.

Curiously, it also listed Minki and Dongho’s names with his. Only Jonghyun’s own name was in Dongho’s poor handwriting. Dongho must have thought he’d need more help—or worried about Minki going off and leading a group alone. Jonghyun couldn't fault him for the latter. Guests, particularly of the distinguished variety, could be surprisingly curt. 

The paper pinned to the cork notice board beside the schedule would offer more insight about the tour and said 'distinguished guests.' Jonghyun was just leaning closer, rubbing his fingers together before he touched the pages, so he’d be able to make them not stick together, when someone careened into him from behind. He braced himself against the whiteboard.

“Choi Minki!” Jonghyun called. He didn’t even need to turn around. “This hallway is too small to run in!” Sure enough, the service hall was more of a tunnel than a hallway, surrounded on all sides by poorly painted, blocky concrete. Not far from the board, the staff area split off into the kitchen, the breakroom, and a variety of administrative offices Jonghyun did his best to avoid.

“Sorry, Jonghyun. That was my fault.” Aaron’s voice startled him.

Aaron Kwak, one of their marketing staff. He must have come flying out of one of those aforementioned offices.

Aaron’s rushing was a rare occurrence; rare enough that Jonghyun took one more look around to confirm Minki—or perhaps one of the interns—hadn’t caused the spark of chaos.

“Actually, I was looking for you,” Aaron said.

“Me?”

“Yeah, do you have a minute? You’ve got a distinguished VIP tour this afternoon.”

“I saw that.” Curse Kang Dongho. If Aaron was here to talk about the tour, that meant the guests were more distinguished than Jonghyun first thought. It was probably members of the Board of Trustees—more people Jonghyun liked to avoid whenever possible. He didn’t like business people all that much; he worked at a zoo for the animals.

Still, happy thoughts. Jonghyun had gotten good news this morning. Not even some frumpy old elites who saw living beings—of the animal _and_ staff variety—as corporate gain could ruin this day.

“We’re splitting the group up,” Aaron said. “It’ll be three members with you, along with two cameramen. They’ll do their best to not get you in the shots too much.”

Cameramen? _Shots?_

“Who’s coming?” Jonghyun asked. He got the feeling they weren’t talking about the Board of Trustee members, who enjoyed nothing more than keeping their lives shrouded in mystery from normal plebeians.

Aaron’s eyebrows were always the most expressive part of him. They climbed up is forehead like it was a race to the top.

“Didn’t you read the email?” he said.

“Um.” Jonghyun didn’t care all that much for marketing.

“There’s an idol group filming here today. NCT 127. They’re one of the more popular—”

“I know them,” Jonghyun interrupted. “Of them, I mean. I know of them.”

He was wrong. Something was able to ruin today.

“Good,” Aaron said. “Try to know the members’ names going into it, at least.”

“Right. Okay,” Jonghyun said.

“And read my goddamn emails, Kim Jonghyun. I send them for a reason.”

\--

Jonghyun’s work was methodical. He couldn’t say he did the same thing every day because he worked with animals, and living things never did the exact same things every day. Still, he was well-versed in his routine.

It almost distracted him from what he’d just found out.

Almost.

Preparing diets required him to work in the kitchen. One side of the room’s counters were dedicated to any and all vegetables, and there Jonghyun cut up an assortment of papayas and bananas and leafy greens for Wookie the two-toed sloth.

(He thought about NCT 127.)

Tang Yi and Shao Fei the pangolins also got leafy greens, with the addition of mealworms dusted with protein powder, to keep their scales looking nice.

(He thought more about NCT 127.)

Finally, Jonghyun wrapped up with the tortoise diet: a cocktail of lettuce, sliced carrots, and some other veggies, all thrown into a nice salad. Sometimes, he also made the Lorikeets food at this time, but that was so quick, he could also do it right before the feeding.

Jonghyun couldn’t stop thinking about NCT 127. Or, more specifically, one of their members. 

Jonghyun washed his hands again and left the kitchen. He pulled his radio off his belt and up to his face.

“Jonghyun to Dongho,” he said, and waited for Dongho’s ‘go ahead!’

“What’s your location?”

“Breakroom.”

“I’ll be there.”

Jonghyun returned to the tunnel-like service hallway. He passed the board and the offices and turned into the breakroom. They’d done a ‘Brunch in the Amazon’ event today, and the excess food had been left in the breakroom for the vultures.

Dongho had a paper plate with a few different types of thin-sliced bread on it with some fancy jams. As Jonghyun watched, he took a bite that encompassed half the piece of bread. It left some jam on the corner of his lip.

“You,” Jonghyun said.

“Me?” Dongho tried to echo, but it came out warped due to his full mouth.

“I know you switched the schedule. Your handwriting is shit.”

“If you would have responded to the email, it would have been you in the first place,” Dongho said. “Aren’t you happy?”

“No!”

“You’re not happy?” Dongho asked. He licked the jam off. “But you talk about them all the time! Don’t you want to meet them?”

“I think I’m going to have a panic attack.”

“Don't do that.”

“Right, _don’t_ have a panic attack. Why did I never think of that?”

“Jonghyunnie. Calm down,” Dongho said. “You said you had good news you wanted to tell me. What was that about?”

Right. Jonghyun had taken one look at the notification and texted Dongho, who happened to be his best friend. (ex-best friend? current best friend? all was up in the air, as of right now.)

Dongho held his plate out to Jonghyun. He took the slice obediently and ate it.

Dongho was softening Jonghyun’s righteous anger on purpose. No one could be angry while sharing free breakroom food.

“I got into one of their fansigns,” Jonghyun said. “In five days. It’s the first time I've gotten into one that I can actually go to.” Jonghyun's work schedule didn't often allow for trips to Seoul. 

“That’s awesome,” Dongho said. “And now you get to meet them even earlier too!”

Jonghyun was stressed.

“Try some jam,” Dongho said.

Lee Taeyong was Jonghyun’s guilty pleasure. Everybody deserved some type of stress-relieving hobby, and Jonghyun’s just happened to be knowing more about Lee Taeyong (and the other NCT 127 members, but mostly Taeyong) than anyone should.

‘Try to know the members’ names,’ Aaron had said.

Yeah, well. Good thing Jonghyun had a poster with all their names and faces on it right above his bed.

\--

Distinguished VIP Tours began in the afternoon, in some of the behind-the-scenes areas and with education animals. From there, they led on into the public area of the zoo only after it closed to the general public. The lights would still be on; the shuttle train would be on call; a few select food places would still be open.

Jonghyun had always thought these tours turned the zoo into a ghost town. Minhyun told him a zoo that was mainly one big building full of birds and a fifteen-minute walking trail with a few mammals and reptiles did not qualify as a town of any sort, paranormal or otherwise.

(They tried to use Dongho as a tiebreaker, but all he replied was ‘ _ghosts?!?!?!_ ’)

Jonghyun and Minki were outside, waiting for the _distinguished guests_ to arrive. It was a relaxing day, the kind with a clear blue sky and a wispy cloud or two. Despite that, Jonghyun's heart jumped every time someone opened the staff entrance. He was very stressed.

“Are you even listening to me?” Minki asked. He’d been regaling Jonghyun with a tale about their coworkers and their performance during a surprise after-hours drill for an escaped dangerous animal.

“I’m listening! Promise.”

“Okay, so since Aaron set it up, he got Minhyun to go around different places with this stupid sign hanging around his neck that said ‘I’m the cassowary.’”

“Of course he did.”

“But they didn’t tell Seungcheol they were running the drill, so he thought he’d fucked up and the cassowaries were loose and probably about to eat someone.”

“I bet he was thrilled when he saw Minhyun.”

“It was wild. One second, I saw the panic in Seungcheol’s eyes, then the anger, and then Minhyun was on the ground and Seungcheol was on top of him.” Minki was struggling to get his words out without laughing. “And Minhyun’s not a small guy, either! The Lotte World Tower went down that day.” Despite himself, Jonghyun had to giggle at the mental image.

“I think Seungcheol got a swing in while Aaron was too scared to go save his boyfriend.”

“Was he all right?” Jonghyun asked, for posterity, though he was certain Minki wouldn’t tell this story with quite the same tone if Minhyun was dying in the hospital or anything.

“It’s Minhyun,” Minki said, as though that explained it. “He’s fine. Seungcheol said he’s going to make Minhyun’s cassowary sign into one of those pet-shaming ones and make him wear it for a picture.”

“What would it say? ‘Gave my colleague a fucking heart attack?’”

“‘Listened to my dumbass boyfriend for the last fucking time,’ Minki suggested.

“It was his idea, actually,” Aaron said from behind them. They both startled.

“What’s up with you coming up behind me today?” Jonghyun complained.

“The VIPs are almost here. I need to speak to their manager before everything starts. Where is Dongho?” The last phrase was said rather sharply. Aaron was usually an easygoing guy. He must really be stressed about this. 

“On his way,” Jonghyun said. He motioned with his chin to behind Aaron, where Dongho was hurrying on toward them. He had a talent for being exactly on time.

“He’s late,” Aaron grumbled. “I only have a minute. It’s like any tour, but Jonghyun, you start at the lorikeets, then through the main rooms, and end with a few education animals. Whichever you think are best. Minki, same circuit but start with the tropical forest room. Tell Dongho to start with the education animals—and to not be late next time.”

Dongho got close enough to hear Aaron just in time to hear Aaron’s final sentence.

“It won’t happen again!” he promised, even though the ability to arrive exactly on time, never early or late, was absolutely an art and not a science. 

“Catch him up,” Aaron said. “I need to go talk with them.”

With that, Aaron hurried through the wooden service gate, into their event parking lot. Jonghyun got a glimpse of a big black van with tinted windows before the gate shut again.

“Are you excited?” Dongho asked. Jonghyun shied away from the elbow trying to jab him in the ribs.

“Shut up.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t like tours,” Minki said. “You act like they’re hell until you get on one, and then your eyes get all sparkly and everyone loves you.”

“This is different,” Dongho said. “He’s about to meet the love of his life.”

“Stop it!” Jonghyun protested, his voice louder and more indignant now. He was having heart palpitations. Jonghyun didn’t know what was about to happen, but his only hope was avoiding Lee Taeyong as much as possible.

“You should ask him for a picture,” Minki said. “You can hang it up in your room with all your other posters of him.” As Jonghyun's roommate, Minki got a front-row view of Jonghyun's slight obsession.

“I am not telling them I’m a fan."

“What? Why not?”

“That’s weird,” he said. “It could make them uncomfortable. And I’m not here to talk to them anyway. I’m here to show off the zoo.”

“Right, of course. Business as usual. You know, since you’re the senior trainer on the tour, you should probably take whatever group has their leader in it,” Dongho said.

“I know you know he’s their leader.” Jonghyun glared. “I don’t want his group. Seriously, guys.” These were his closest friends. They’d totally respect his wishes.

“Hi, I’m Lee Taeyong. It’s nice to meet you, and thank you for leading us around today!”

Jonghyun was going to die. Then he was going to murder his friends. The order might seem illogical, but Jonghyun was certain all he’d have to do to kill his friends postmortem was appear as a ghost, and they’d both have heart-attacks. It was just less messy that way.

He’d had half a hope that Taeyong’s face was a lie or something, and that he’d be somewhat less ethereal in person. Or maybe that since Jonghyun was used to seeing faces like Minki and Minhyun’s around every day, he’d gotten used to otherworldly beauty.

Taeyong was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. Even if he was wearing this giant shirt and incredibly loose pants, paired with an egg-yellow beanie. It said something that Jonghyun was the better dressed between them, considering he was wearing khakis. It also said something that Jonghyun still found Taeyong cute, even with the outfit. 

“Kim Jonghyun,” he said. Business-like. Maybe even a tad curt. “I hope you enjoy the zoo.”

“I will,” Taeyong said. His hair was blond and freshly dyed. Jonghyun couldn't tell that from how the hair looked, but he did know because three days ago Taeyong's hair was brown. Up close, Jonghyun could see the faintest outline of the scar on Taeyong’s face. He figured that meant he was staring way, way too much, but Taeyong didn’t seem too weirded out by it.

Doyoung and Jungwoo also introduced themselves. Jonghyun wondered how they’d determined the groups. It didn’t matter, really, though Jonghyun was slightly vindicated when he saw that Dongho’s group consisted of Johnny, Jaehyun, and Mark. They were going to have a _time_ today.

“We’ll start with the lorikeet feeding,” Jonghyun said. He led them to the enclosure, and the idols mainly spoke among themselves. Jonghyun tried to ignore the cameras, but it was difficult. The members had their own Go-Pros, along with the cameramen.

Jonghyun's favorite place to begin a tour was the lorikeet exhibit. With their rainbow of colors—green wings, red chests, blue heads—and their friendly (nectar-loving) nature, they were a consistent fan-favorite.

The downside was their tendency to swarm the first person who entered the exhibit. As Jonghyun poured the idols tiny, shallow cups of nectar, he warned them of this.

“We’ll send Taeyong in first,” Doyoung said. Jungwoo’s eyes were on the screen behind Jonghyun, where one of the lorikeets had landed. Its beak wrapped around the metal screen like it could break through it. Lorikeets were anarchists.

“I’ll go in!” Taeyong confirmed.

Jonghyun laughed lightly. “Okay,” he said. The door opened in, so technically Jonghyun was the first to cross into the enclosure. Instantly, a lorikeet plopped onto his shoulder. Despite his earlier confirmation, Taeyong hesitated. One of the birds peered into the foyer.

Jonghyun glared at it. _Don’t you dare._ If a bird got into the vestibule, he’d have to go get a net and chase it back into the enclosure.

He motioned Taeyong inside. Taeyong stretched the food out as he entered, and instantly, the bird that had landed on Jonghyun abandoned him. Taeyong laughed and made this open-mouthed smile. He held the food in one hand and the go pro in the other.

He came in far enough for Jonghyun to let the door close. Two more lorikeets landed on Taeyong’s arms, happily licking up the nectar. A third landed on Taeyong’s head, and it startled a flinch and wide eyes and then a laugh out of him.

“Hey, you know you’re not supposed to do that,” Jonghyun snapped without thinking. Taeyong shot him a startled look, and Jonghyun’s face burned. “Ah, the bird. Not you.” He took the bird from Taeyong’s head and transferred it to his forearms. Their arms brushed in the process.

“Do they have names?” Taeyong asked, all starry-eyed. He offered his arms out to yet another bird, which had made its way closer across the bare branches surrounding them.

“Yep!” Jonghyun said. “I don’t know them all, but that’s Lulu.” He pointed at their greatest troublemaker, who was scooching down a branch toward Taeyong, and possibly was eyeing Taeyong’s earrings. Lulu loved nothing more than pulling hard on shiny things.

“Do you work with them a lot?”

“Every day,” Jonghyun said. “They’re nightmares. We tried giving them tissue paper as nesting material and they tore it to shreds. In the wild they tear gutters off of houses.”

Taeyong laughed. “I think they’re great,” he said.

Jonghyun did his best to hide how ridiculously soft that made him. Lulu held up a foot and Taeyong offered her his finger. She wrapped her toes around it, but made no effort to truly stand on his arm.

Taeyong tried to take his finger back, but Lulu wasn’t giving it up. Jonghyun was just glad it was Taeyong’s finger and not his earring.

Jonghyun led them away from the lorikeets with Taeyong’s bright smile and soft ‘thank you’ still in his ears.

The main area of the zoo took up the majority of the tour. Jonghyun led them around the different enclosures, occasionally answering a question but mainly letting them film. Taeyong kept saying hello to the animals, Doyoung seemed to really like the Raggiana Birds-of-Paradise, and Jungwoo seemed to be enjoying everything.

It was a good tour. Better than what Jonghyun had expected, when he’d first seen his name on that schedule. Especially better than Jonghyun had anticipated when he found out who he'd be leading around. Professionalism was a wild thing; Jonghyun had looked Lee Taeyong in the eye and everything. 

After they finished the main area, they took a short filming break. Jonghyun used the opportunity to drink some water and calm down a little. Taeyong acted exactly as Jonghyun would have expected. It was an odd feeling, to have someone Jonghyun had idolized for a long while come into his life and say sweet things to the animals Jonghyun dedicated his working life to.

Every time Taeyong complimented one of them, Jonghyun fell in love for a split second.

“Hey, Jonghyun-ssi,” Taeyong said. Jonghyun startled. He hadn’t expected Taeyong to speak with him when the cameras weren’t filming. “What’s it like working in a zoo?” he asked.

“Fun,” Jonghyun said. “Complicated. Stressful, sometimes. A lot of animals depend on you for their well-being.”

It was a more honest answer than Jonghyun normally gave during a tour. Really, it was a much more complicated answer than what Jonghyun gave to even acquaintances, or long-lost family members who appeared at Chuseok. Few people bothered to understand the weight of having dozens of animals who were unable to verbally communicate their needs to you in your care.

Taeyong tipped his head to the side. It was painfully cute. With the lack of running cameras and actual tour going on, Jonghyun's ability to act normally around the idol of his dreams was fizzling out. 

“It sounds a lot like what I do,” Taeyong joked.

Jonghyun laughed a little too heartily to that, but Taeyong didn’t seem to mind. 

“I think I would’ve wanted a job like this, if I hadn’t been an idol,” Taeyong said. “I really love animals.”

“I can tell. They can, too. Animals are really in-tune with that stuff.”

“What’s your favorite animal here?”

“One of our education animals!” Jonghyun said instantly. Some people said those who work with many animals shouldn't pick favorites. Jonghyun thought those people were stuck up. “He’s a box turtle, and his name is Ton. You’ll get to meet him later.” Jonghyun had even gotten to name him, though his coworkers still gave him a bad time for getting the name from an anime. “He’s a proud father now. His mate is incubating five eggs.”

Jonghyun didn't mention that Ton was now kept separate from his mate because he had an unfortunate history of egg-eating. 

Taeyong giggled. “I’ll have to congratulate him,” he said.

“Congratulations!” Taeyong had both hands cupped in front of him, and Ton was dragging himself across them. He was a decent size for a box turtle, but he still fit comfortable in two hands. His shell was a mix of brown and yellow, arranged in complicated patterns. Ton raised a clawed forelimb and stepped onto Jungwoo’s hand. Doyoung was staying a safe distance away. He still hadn’t totally recovered from the last animal—a big boa constrictor.

“I heard you’re a father now!” Taeyong went on. “Are you excited?”

“He’s a father?” Doyoung asked. “But he looks like a baby?”

“He’s fully grown,” Jonghyun said. “He’s around forty.”

“Forty? Forty-years-old?”

“Ahjussi,” Jungwoo said softly.

“You can tell from the rings on his shell.” Jonghyun used his pinky to point a few out. Doyoung had leaned closer, and now he joined Jonghyun in counting them.

“Wow,” Taeyong said. He was right next to Jonghyun, damn near breathing the same air. It was too much.

“Would you like to feed him?” Jonghyun asked. He used the excuse to escape and get the lettuce he’d brought in with them. Taeyong took a leaf and offered it to Ton, who turned the other way. He was still walking, and Jonghyun let him crawl onto his own palms, so the NCT members could offer him food.

Ton still wouldn’t take any.

“C’mon, Ton,” Jonghyun said. He pitched his voice high. “Don’t you want some food?”

Taeyong held his lettuce out again, and finally, Ton seemed more about it. He took a big bite and nearly managed to pull it out of Taeyong’s hands. Taeyong giggled.

They were wrapping this segment up, so only a couple minutes later, the cameramen motioned that they were stopping their cameras. Now, Jonghyun would return Ton to his enclosure and say goodbye. This was the end of his tour.

Jonghyun hadn’t planned on doing this, but Taeyong had been so nice the entire day, he decided to risk it.

“Taeyong-ssi?” he asked, when the filming had ended and only Taeyong lingered around Jonghyun and Ton. “Could I…take your picture with Ton? It’s okay if I can’t!” Jonghyun didn’t want to think about how red his burning face must look.

Taeyong smiled, and the heavens lit up. Just when Jonghyun thought he was growing accustomed to that smile, it became clear that he very much wasn’t. “Okay,” Taeyong said. Jonghyun passed him the turtle and wiggled his phone out of his pocket.

“My phone only has a front camera, sorry,” Jonghyun said. He showed Taeyong the back, which had a long crack running through it. Back in the employee hallway, they had a big sign that proclaimed the rules of workplace safety, paired with a smaller sign that read ‘[blank] days since last workplace accident.’ Six months ago, Dongho had filled the blank in with ‘Jonghyun :(’ and no one had yet changed it.

“We’ll use mine,” Taeyong said. “Here.” He passed Ton to Jonghyun and dug his phone out of his pocket then swapped what was in their hands again.

Jonghyun took a couple steps back. Taeyong held Ton in both hands and raised him up just below his face. He opened his mouth and widened his eyes into this look of excitement. Jonghyun snapped a couple pictures, then thanked Taeyong.

“Would you like to take one with me?” Taeyong asked. He must have seen the answer in Jonghyun’s face, because before Jonghyun truly answered, Taeyong went, “Hey, Doyoung! Take this picture for me.”

Doyoung looked them over with suspicious eyes, but he put his phone in his pocket and took Taeyong’s from Jonghyun. Taeyong wrapped his free arm around Jonghyun’s back for the picture. Jonghyun made a v sign. He felt the impression of Taeyong's hand on his side long after he let go. All the way until after Jonghyun had returned Ton to the transport crate, and up until Taeyong passed Jonghyun his phone again. 

"You can send them to yourself," he said. 

“I promise I’ll delete your number,” Jonghyun said, as soon as he confirmed he’d received the pictures. “And I won’t post these or anything.” He hadn’t expected Taeyong to do something like this for him. Jonghyun couldn't get over how _nice_ Taeyong was being to him.

Taeyong giggled. “It’s okay,” he said. “Keep it. You can give me updates on Ton’s kids.”

Jonghyun froze. Taeyong was telling him to keep his phone number, even to contact him again. This was every fan's dream--and yet, it felt dishonest. Jonghyun averted his eyes. "Ah, I probably shouldn’t. I’m kind-of a fan. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You’re a fan?”

“Kind-of,” Jonghyun lied. Ten hours ago he'd seen the fansign notification and got so excited he woke Minki up to tell him, and texted Dongho. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable before. But me having your number is a little…” Jonghyun didn't know what it was, but it didn't feel right. Fans didn't just meet idols, especially not fans like Jonghyun. 

“It’ll be fine,” Taeyong decided. “Besides, I really do want to hear about Ton’s kids.”

Okay, then. Jonghyun didn’t protest when Taeyong took Jonghyun’s phone from him, even though he didn’t know what Taeyong planned on doing.

“Am I your bias?” Taeyong asked.

“Uh—”

Taeyong laughed, and Jonghyun figured that meant he wasn't really looking for an actual answer. Or maybe that Jonghyun's immediate panic had answered it for Taeyong. 

Once Taeyong left, Jonghyun looked at his phone. Taeyong had saved his contact as: Taeyong! 💚

Jonghyun was stressed.

\--

Jonghyun remained stressed.

“Maybe I shouldn’t go to the fansign,” he said. It was the night before, and Jonghyun was pacing through his and Minki’s apartment. It was a tiny place with a pretty view, but Jonghyun couldn’t seem to stay in one place to even look out the window. Pacing was better than his previous activity, which had been watching the clock and knowing he had to leave for Seoul in nine hours.

“You’re going to the fansign,” Minki said.

“I didn’t ask you.”

“You just opened my bedroom door, walked in, and closed the door behind you. That counts as asking me.”

Okay, so maybe Minki had a point. Jonghyun dropped down beside Minki on his bed. In the other room, the Mario Kart music played, despite how Jonghyun had paused the game a while back.

“What if it’s weird?”

“From what you told me, the last thing he said to you was that you should text him. That doesn’t exactly translate to ‘avoid him for the rest of your life’ to me.”

“I haven’t texted him.”

“Have the eggs hatched?”

“You know they haven’t. The incubation period’s sixty days.”

“Exactly, so nothing’s changed that you needed to tell Taeyong about.”

Jonghyun cuddled closer to Minki, who wrapped his arm around Jonghyun in return. It was nice to have a roommate he could cuddle with like this. They’d been fast friends ever since secondary school, and Jonghyun trusted Minki’s opinion more than anything.

“You really think it’s not weird?”

“Jonghyun, you do realize Taeyong wants fans, right? You’re not bothering him by being a fan.”

“I know,” Jonghyun grumbled. He stuck his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and stretched it as low as he could.

“I know you know. So what’s the problem?”

“What if he doesn’t remember me?” Because the truth was that Jonghyun was easy to overlook. It wasn’t a bad thing. Jonghyun tended to be quiet. He could take a while to speak up when he met someone new. Taeyong had been friendly, but half of Taeyong’s career was being friendly. They had both been doing their jobs that day.

“He’ll remember you,” Minki promised. “Or if he doesn’t, then that’s his loss.”

Jonghyun rested his head on Minki’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he said.

“Yeah, yeah. Thank me by letting me pick your outfit for the fansign. You haven’t let me dress you since college.” Minki was petting Jonghyun’s hair as he said it.

“Every time I’ve worn something you put together bad things happened.”

“Correlation, not causation. You make bad decisions when you go out,” Minki said. “C’mon, Taeyong’s only ever seen you in _khakis_. I’ll give him something to really look at.”

Jonghyun raised his head. He eyed Minki suspiciously. “My closet only,” he bargained.

“I can work with that.”

Jonghyun ended up in a black turtleneck and frayed jeans, paired with a long coat he’d gotten forever ago, and had a bad tendency to leave in the back of his closet during summer and forget about it until spring. The only good thing about the arrangement was that it gave Jonghyun ample time between seasons to remember how much he loved the coat, with the way it had two different styles on one coat: one side was black, and the other beige. Jonghyun had been (and still was) pretty proud of himself for finding it.

At the venue, NCT 127 were seated across three tables. They’d already introduced themselves, and now Jonghyun was near vibrating with excitement. Johnny was joking around and sitting in front of Mark, telling him he was Mark’s fan. Taeyong was fourth in line, the first member seated at the second table. He was laughing and shaking his head at Johnny and Mark’s antics.

This was it. Taeyong would either recognize him or wouldn’t, and Jonghyun would have to go with either one. He got in line, and waited his turn. Finally, he sat down in front of Taeyong.

“Jonghyun-ah?”

Oh. _Oh._

“Hi,” Jonghyun said. His face burned so hotly he was certain his ears and cheeks were bright red. He didn’t know what else to say.

Taeyong, too, seemed thrown off. “You’re here?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I’m…” This was not going well.

Taeyong seemed to realize that too. He flipped Jonghyun’s album open to his picture to sign it. “‘kind-of a fan,’ Jonghyun-ah?” he teased. “This seems more than kind-of. Have Ton’s babies hatched yet?”

“No, they’ve still got a couple weeks.”

Taeyong nodded. “I’m still expecting your message,” he said. “I want to see pictures of the babies.”

“I’ll use someone else’s phone to take them,” Jonghyun promised.

Taeyong laughed. “Or take selcas with them,” he said. “Then I get to see you too.” He said it all very smoothly, but his entire face was reddening. 

Just when Jonghyun had thought he’d gotten a handle on everything. Luckily, he was urged to move onto the next member--Yuta--before he had to figure out a response. 

Jonghyun had been too busy watching Taeyong to notice what he was doing in Jonghyun’s album, but later, when he went to show Minki all the signatures, he saw that Taeyong had drawn a tiny turtle there.

\--

“Dongho, let me borrow your phone.”

“Get your camera fixed.” He didn’t hand Jonghyun his phone, but he didn’t try particularly hard to keep Jonghyun from snatching it from his hand.

“I want to take pictures of the kids.”

“I know,” Dongho said. He took his phone back anyway. “Minki said you send them all to that NCT idol.” He’d first sent Taeyong pictures of the kids the morning Jonghyun came in to find they had hatched. Taeyong had responded by Facetiming him, and he’d gotten to show all five to Taeyong that day. Since then, they’d been texting daily and even playing Minecraft together during their free time.

It felt like Jonghyun and Taeyong had some fairytale-style friendship going on. They meshed so well so immediately. When Jonghyun had admitted to not yet naming the babies, Taeyong suggested the names of the five girls from K-ON! since Ton’s name had also come from that.

“Pfft. What does Minki know?” Like any good fairytale, Jonghyun feared everything would dissipate if he talked too much about it.

“Literally everything about you. Remember that time we were all making bets about how you’d react to different things the interns did and Minki swept?”

“You did _what_?”

Dongho froze. He shot a furtive glance down the hallway past Jonghyun. “I guess we… never did tell you about that.” Jonghyun made a ‘you think’ face at him.

“What did you bet?” Jonghyun demanded.

“Have fun taking photos!” Dongho said as he left with his phone. 

Jonghyun grumbled all the way to the turtles, and then grumbled more as he tried to figure out an angle where his front camera managed to get only the kids in the shot. Finally, he gave up. Taeyong had told him to take photos of himself with the turtles too, so… Jonghyun held the baby up on his palm, all the way by his face. It still fit easily on his one hand. He snapped the pictures before she could try and crawl anywhere, then set her back down with the others.

He sent the photos to Taeyong and got a string of 😍😍😍😍 back.

 _uwu_ , Taeyong wrote. _Two cute turtles._

Jonghyun’s heart did something entirely unwarranted in his chest.

Then, a minute later,

_I spent all night making u a thing in minecraft lol_

_It’s a gift!!_

_And a thank u for the turtle pics_

Taeyong had made him a _gift_. Jonghyun’s heart did a second complicated thing in his chest. He pressed a hand against it and tried to regroup.

He failed.

Jonghyun showered directly after work, as per usual, but he managed to do it at double time. He logged on and grinned when he saw Taeyong was already playing. This was a few hours earlier than they normally played together, but Taeyong had mentioned a gift and Jonghyun wanted to see it. He called Taeyong so they could talk as they played.

Taeyong led him into the water, and then to an island. Every available space on the island contained a turtle. A couple adults dotted the edges, while the babies were corralled in by a wood fence. A few eggs were still unhatched, and a few adults were in the surrounding water.

It was a silly gift, one that grew even sillier when Jonghyun grabbed some seagrass to feed them, and the turtles all began to follow him. It went on with Taeyong and Jonghyun leading turtles and swimming with them and messing around, until a zombie climbed onto the island to attack the babies. Instantly, he and Taeyong started screaming. They abandoned their seagrass and frantically fought the zombies off, until they finally managed it and dissolved into helpless giggles. 

"You know," Taeyong said, once they'd finally recovered. Jonghyun's stomach ached from the laughter. "I really like you Jonghyun."

Jonghyun didn't know how to answer, so he said nothing back, but he could second that. He liked Taeyong too. As an idol, yes, but also as a friend. 

\--

With time, Taeyong had gone from Lee Taeyong, leader of NCT, love of Jonghyun’s life, to one of his best friends. Lee Taeyong leader of NCT, love of Jonghyun’s life, became a kind, funny presence. Someone to talk to. Someone to play games with. Someone who liked hearing about Jonghyun’s work at odd hours of the night.

It was a weird process. Jonghyun had always known Taeyong was real, but there was a difference between 'oh yeah that guy you see on the screen? that's a real person!' real and 'oh, I should order malatang and clean up a little since Taeyong is coming over soon' real. 

That didn’t mean Jonghyun had lost the flutter of excitement that Taeyong was in his apartment. Minki had said a quick ‘hello’ when Taeyong showed up, and it was Minki so he played it cool and managed to be the most embarrassing roommate possible all at once.

Jonghyun had proposed a chill night to Taeyong, and Minki didn’t go so far as to change that, but he did have a homemade mojito in Taeyong’s hands only a few minutes into meeting him. Minki also introduced Taeyong to their mint plant, which was sprawled all over their windowsill, and had donated a couple leaves for the mojitos.

(Taeyong was Taeyong, and so said a small ‘hello’ and ‘nice to meet you’ to the plant. His constant tendency to greet any and all things was one of the most endearing things Jonghyun had ever seen.)

Now, mojitos in hand and Minki out the door and off to meet up with their coworkers, Jonghyun and Taeyong were in Jonghyun’s room. Taeyong was sitting on the chair by Jonghyun’s PC, checking out his setup. Jonghyun changed the color of his computer from red to blue to green to purple, and Taeyong oohed along with each. Jonghyun preened under Taeyong’s attention. He was damn proud of his setup because he’d built the computer himself.

“So what do you want to do?” Taeyong asked. All they’d planned was a chill evening inside since they’d both worked long hours today.

Jonghyun made an ‘I dunno’ type sound. He hadn’t thought too far ahead, and Taeyong-in-person was still sometimes hard to think around. “I’m down for anything.”

He sat down on his bed, and Taeyong joined him near immediately. “Tell me something interesting,” he prompted.

“Something interesting?”

“Anything.”

Jonghyun thought for a second. “Birds are much more closely related to snakes and lizards than turtles are.”

“I love that that’s what you say.”

“You asked for something interesting! I think it’s interesting that reptiles are a lie.”

Taeyong laughed. “How does that make reptiles a lie?”

“There’s no scientific definition that fits them. Really, it's just 'has scales, lays eggs’ and that’s not how science works.” This was one of the things Jonghyun thought about way too hard, way too often. Taeyong didn’t need to hear the whole spiel, though. Instead, a new idea occurred to him. “Speaking of science, we should watch _Planet Earth_.”

It said a lot about how far they’d come in the past weeks that Jonghyun didn’t even feel embarrassed to bring it up.

“I’m down,” Taeyong said.

No matter how far they’d come, it still made Jonghyun stupidly happy when Taeyong wanted to do things with him. Jonghyun led Taeyong back into their living room. He curled up on the couch, and without prompting, Taeyong sat next to him. Jonghyun turned the T.V. on and dragged the coffee table closer, so they could set their drinks on it.

“I just watched this a couple weeks ago, so wanna do _Blue Planet_?” Jonghyun proposed. “Or not. I’m always down for rewatching it.”

“ _Blue Planet_ works,” Taeyong said. “Do you watch it a lot? I’ve never seen it.”

“We can’t be friends anymore.” The words were out his mouth before he even registered them; he realized what he said at the same time he registered Taeyong’s surprised laugh. Jonghyun rested his hand on Taeyong’s arm, lest he really try to leave.

“It’s that good?” If anything, Taeyong leaned in closer.

“It’s brilliant,” Jonghyun promised. “You’ll see. Minki and me play _Planet Earth_ drinking games all the time.”

“How does that work?”

“Take a shot every time he says ‘vast.’” At that moment, _Blue Planet_ began with a shot of the—yes, vast—expanse of ocean. Taeyong raised his drink, and waited until Jonghyun did the same before he took a sip.

“We shouldn’t,” Jonghyun warned, even as he took his own sip. “He says it a lot.”

Taeyong was watching the screen. It was mesmerizing, watching the camera pan under the water and the fish to swim through the shot and keep on going. Jonghyun didn't mind letting the conversation die and just watching.

He especially didn’t mind it when Taeyong leaned a little closer, and then dropped his head onto Jonghyun’s shoulder. After a minute or two of being stiff under him, Jonghyun took a few deep breaths because his heart was as beating as erratically as the schools of small fish startled by predators moved. He ran his fingers up Taeyong’s arm, once, twice, and then during the third, Taeyong caught Jonghyun’s fingers and interlocked them with his own. 

It all felt very middle school. Sitting there, watching something as innocuous but exciting as a show about the ocean, and holding hands. Taeyong seemed to think the same thing. He giggled so softly Jonghyun wouldn’t have heard it had his head not been on Jonghyun’s shoulder, and his mouth by Jonghyun’s ear.

It became less middle school when Jonghyun started thinking all too hard about Taeyong’s mouth. In his defense, it was a very nice mouth. This wasn’t the first time Jonghyun had thought about it, but it was the first time he struggled to stop thinking about it.

 _Blue Planet_ was still playing. The television cast a blue shadow over them. If Jonghyun turned his head just slightly, he could surreptitiously watch Taeyong. His blond hair picked up the blue wash. Jonghyun used his free hand to run his fingers through it, and Taeyong shifted into the touch.

His hair was soft, the strands as silky as they looked under Jonghyun’s fingers. Again, Jonghyun was hit by how surreal this was. Taeyong was in his apartment, his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder, his hand wrapped around Jonghyun’s. 

This time, the surrealness wasn't because Taeyong was an idol, it was because Taeyong was his friend. And like, yeah, Jonghyun had looked at him and thought about how beautiful he was before--especially before they knew each other--but that had never seemed feasible. Not until now. 

Taeyong caught Jonghyun watching. Immediately, his face burned, strongly enough Jonghyun would have bet a blush was spreading over his cheeks and down his neck.

“You’re not watching?” Taeyong asked.

On a scale of 1-10, how creepy was it that Jonghyun had been ignoring _Blue Planet_ in favor of staring at Taeyong?

“Um—” Jonghyun didn’t have a good answer. He cast a look at the television, like David Attenborough could save him.

Taeyong seemed to find that funny. His giggle made his body shake against Jonghyun. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, Jonghyun-ah,” he said, and Jonghyun got the distinct feeling that Taeyong was playing with him, from the soft, intense eyes to the way Taeyong was using their entwined hands to pull Jonghyun even closer to him.

Now Taeyong was letting go of his hand. That didn’t mean he was moving away, though. Definitely not. Jonghyun wrapped his arms around Taeyong. This was happening. Like, _happening_.

“What are you thinking about?” Taeyong asked, like Jonghyun had any coherent thoughts at all with him so close. He was too focused on Taeyong’s lips. They were small and pink and—and smiling. Fuck. Jonghyun still hadn’t answered him.

“I don’t know,” he managed, like that was much of an answer at all.

The smile widened. “You know what I’m thinking?” Taeyong didn’t wait for an answer. “That you should kiss me.”

_What?_

“If you want to,” Taeyong said, and now some uncertainty leaked into his voice. He wasn’t quite as sure as he was playing at.

But he was right. Taeyong’s face was still close to Jonghyun’s. So close it only took leaning forward to press their lips together. The kiss was quick, and then over; only a peck, really. Jonghyun met Taeyong’s eyes, and now they both giggled.

Taeyong pulled him in again. This time, Taeyong cupped Jonghyun’s face. The kiss was lazy but long, comforting. Jonghyun closed his eyes. The narrator’s voice continued, but now it faded to low waves. Kissing Taeyong had Jonghyun blind to the surrounding world yet aware of the smallest of changes.

Taeyong’s soft sigh when they parted. The slight reddening of his lips. The color in his cheeks. Jonghyun was intoxicated and coming back for more. He leaned in further, this time chasing after Taeyong. Taeyong was malleable, his hands gripping Jonghyun’s arms as he leaned back, accommodating as Jonghyun shifted so they could both lay down.

Jonghyun propped himself up so he could take in the sight of Taeyong under him. He trailed his fingers over Taeyong’s lips before kissing him again. The kisses were still slow and relaxed. Taeyong bit Jonghyun’s lower lip gently, and heat flared through him. Jonghyun gasped, and Taeyong seemed to delight in the small sound.

Jonghyun wasn’t normally a person who felt out of control. He wasn't the most charismatic, nor always the best at expressing himself, but he knew who he was, and he knew what he wanted.

Jonghyun wanted Taeyong. He wanted him in a way that threw caution and control to the side. A way that had him panting after only a couple kisses. Groaning when they deepened the kiss. Jonghyun was no longer certain who was initiating what.

Through it all, Taeyong’s lips on his. Taeyong’s fingers threaded with his.

Taeyong.

Dramatic music started from the television. Jonghyun blinked a couple times, brought back to Earth, and when Taeyong turned his head to look at the television, Jonghyun did too. Their cheeks brushed together. Jonghyun could feel Taeyong’s heartbeat as firmly as his own.

On the screen, a shark was hunting. The camera flashed between the predator and the likely prey, an oblivious school of fish, still swimming slowly even as the shark approached.

Jonghyun couldn’t remember exactly how this hunt had ended, despite the number of times he’d seen _Blue Planet_ previously.

The shark made a pass at the fish. They scattered, and then won, after the shark pursued a brief chase. Taeyong inhaled sharply as the shark lunged.

The pace was nice. Jonghyun shifted so he could rest his head more comfortably against Taeyong’s chest. Taeyong’s steady heartbeat was calming, and the tension drained from him as Taeyong’s hand traced circles on his back.

For a while, it stayed like that. Cuddling. Watching. They made the occasional comment to each other, and when a turtle showed up on screen, Taeyong squeezed Jonghyun closer against him.

It was nice. So nice. But Jonghyun also couldn’t complain when Taeyong’s hands slipped under his hoodie and the t-shirt below. Jonghyun shifted under the touch, as Taeyong traced up his spine. He twisted to look at Taeyong, and he wasn’t prepared for how intensely Taeyong watched him. Jonghyun swallowed hard.

His breath hitched when Taeyong gripped his hips, and it was clear Taeyong didn’t miss how that had affected him.

“Pause it,” Taeyong said. Jonghyun did.

“You’ve been driving me crazy,” Taeyong admitted. Jonghyun’s bangs were in his eyes, but he didn’t dare move. They were stuck staring at each other. The way Taeyong had spoken made it sound like a confession, and now he brushed Jonghyun’s hair from his eyes, and the fond, gentle gesture was even more of a confession.

“You too.” Jonghyun wasn’t exactly certain whether that worked as a response, but he had to say something.

“So, this is…” Taeyong didn’t finish, but Jonghyun got it.

“I don’t make my one-night stands watch _Planet Earth_ with me, if that’s what you’re asking.” He tried to cover his smile with his hand because he couldn’t get it off his face otherwise, but Taeyong caught his wrist. He pulled it far enough away that he could kiss Jonghyun again.

"Good," Taeyong said, against his lips. "I do have a stipulation, though."

Normally, something like that would make Jonghyun worry. With Taeyong's hands on him and his gentle gaze, Jonghyun couldn't find it in himself to do anything but smile back down at him. 

"Yeah?" he asked. "What's that?" 

"Introduce me to your baby turtles."

"I don't know," Jonghyun teased. "Isn't it too soon for you to be meeting my baby turtles?" He kissed Taeyong again. "Especially since you could just be using me for access to them." 

"I'll introduce you to my members in return," Taeyong bargained. "I mean, they're nothing compared to baby turtles, but..." 

"Introduce me to your plants," Jonghyun countered. 

Taeyong chuckled. Jonghyun had a hand splayed across his chest, and he could feel the vibrations of the slight laugh. "Deal," he said.

They sealed it with a kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> cant believe i thought the concept of minhyun wearing a pet shaming sign was so funny i added a sudden cameo just to make the joke work. anyway, hope you enjoyed and that i didnt mess up nct's personalities too bad. i appreciate all kudos and comments!
> 
> catch me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/onlystr84jongup) and [curiouscat.](https://curiouscat.me/onlystr84jongup)


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